DUBAI: The Liverpool Arab Arts Festival has appointed Sioned Jones as its chief executive officer and artistic director, the organization announced this week.
Jones joins after nearly 30 years working at a senior level in the not-for-profit sector. She takes on a combined role covering both the organization’s management and its artistic programming, stepping into a team that has been led by director Anne Thwaite.
The festival was founded in 2002 by Taher Qassim, who moved from Yemen to Liverpool in the early 1990s. He set it up to close the distance between the city’s Arab communities and everyone living alongside them.
Qassim, now 73, was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, a state honor given for service to a community or field. He still sits on the board, which has been chaired by his daughter, Afrah Qassim, since 2020.
The festival’s 24th edition took place across in July, with 12 performances that ranged from music and theater to workshops and discussions that featured Arab artists and performers from diaspora communities.
Recent programs have included Egyptian-Scottish classical duo The Ayoub Sisters and Palestinian darbuka player Simona Abdallah, who performed at the festival for a third time this year. There is also an annual family day of free activities and food and Yemeni Night, a platform for performers from its founder’s homeland.
The festival’s patrons are Lebanese composer and oud player Marcel Khalife and British comedian Alexei Sayle, who was born in Liverpool. It has built its programming around Liverpool audiences rather than the London institutions that dominate the UK’s Arab cultural calendar, and it draws its leadership from the same city. Its board includes vice chair Hamdan Dammag and members Reem Maghribi, Sarah Scally and Sara Suliman.
A 25th edition is planned for 2027, which organizers have said might make it the longest-running Arab arts festival in the UK.
